I often think that the job of photography is to show the world in a different way than one would normally see or have access to. No one view is correct or even true, necessarily, but the photographer must be willing to share their view for the work to be interesting.

The surface of the photographer Chad States project “Cruising” is about men trying to pick each other up in parks for illicit trysts, but there are several underlying currents passing beneath the surface. These are beautiful photographs of a part of gay life we as viewers wouldn't normally have access. It is edgy in content, but classical in its visual style.

In part the works is about finding a place, secret or public, in which one can be themselves. On a greater scale it speaks about repression both societal and personal. That people feel the need to find these spaces says something about the desire to be in the public eye and at the same time have a private life, maybe away from the “regular” life that they live.

People will take away different emotions from this work: disgust, desire, acceptance. Whether you look at them with a feeling of beauty or disgust it would be hard to deny that the work hasn’t done the job of showing you a different view.

Our blog´s mission is to create a document of contemporary photography that presents the latest trends, history, institutions, photographers and news to serve as a source for inspiration, promotion and education to the photographic community.